Stocks close 2.03% lower following Wall Street loss

The weighted index lost 91.93 points to close at the day’s low of 4,436.94, off a high of 4,513.99, on turnover of NT$59.85 billion (US$1.72 billion).

Losers outnumbered gainers by 1,386 to 258 with 155 stocks unchanged.

The market opened down 0.99 percent with bellwether electronic stocks in focus amid the weakness of their US counterparts, and the downside extended until the end of the session as selling spread to other sectors, dealers said.

“I suspect that foreign institutional investors kept cutting their high tech holdings. Such correction is possible to continue,” Lin said.

CONTINUED CAUTION

Lin said that investors should remain cautious about possible further losses by financial stocks as the domestic economy deteriorates.

“Investors are afraid that more business closures will boost bank bad loans and undermine banks’ profitability,” he said.

For the week, the weighted index fell 153.56 points or 3.35 percent after a 2.67 percent increase the previous week. Average daily turnover stood at NT$65.84 billion, compared with NT$73.60 billion a week earlier.